Urinal assembly

ABSTRACT

A urinal assembly includes a urinal device and a urinal deodorizer. The urinal device includes a basin and plumbing. The urinal deodorizer includes a housing, a deodorizing agent supply unit, a pipe, and an open-type air-freshening container. The deodorizing agent supply unit is disposed in the housing, and is adapted to hold a deodorizing agent and to dispense a predetermined amount of the same. The pipe has first and second ends. The first end is coupled to the outlet of the deodorizing agent supply unit. The open-type air-freshening container is coupled to the second end to receive and hold the predetermined amount of the deodorizing agent. The air-freshening container is coupled to the plumbing and is operable to supply a portion of the predetermined amount of the deodorizing agent to the urinal device via the plumbing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a urinal assembly, and more particularly, to aurinal assembly having a urinal deodorizer that provides a continuousdeodorizing effect, and simultaneously, is able to clean and disinfect abasin of a urinal device during flushing of the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

Urinal deodorizers are utilized to clean a urinal (not shown) and, atthe same time, to mask unpleasant odors in a restroom. FIG. 1 depicts aconventional urinal deodorizer 5 that holds an amount of a deodorizingagent 6 therein.

The disadvantage of the abovesaid urinal deodorizer 5 is that the urinaldeodorizer 5 can only perform its intended function on an intermittentbasis. That is to say, the urinal deodorizer 5 is only activated torelease the deodorizing agent 6 when the urinal is flushed such that thedeodorizing agent 6 is mixed and flushed away with the flush water. Ifthe urinal is not flushed for a long period of time, however, unpleasantodors will develop and linger in the restroom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a urinalassembly that is capable of overcoming the above-mentioned drawback ofthe prior art.

According to the present invention, a urinal assembly includes a urinaldevice and a urinal deodorizer. The urinal device includes a basin, andplumbing that is one of manually and automatically operated to flush thebasin. The urinal deodorizer includes a housing, a deodorizing agentsupply unit, a first pipe, and an open-type air-freshening container.The deodorizing agent supply unit is disposed in the housing and has anoutlet. The deodorizing agent supply unit is adapted to hold adeodorizing agent and to dispense a predetermined amount of thedeodorizing agent. The first pipe has first and second ends. The firstend is coupled to the outlet of the deodorizing agent supply unit. Theopen-type air-freshening container is coupled to the second end of thefirst pipe to receive and hold the predetermined amount of thedeodorizing agent dispensed from the deodorizing agent supply unit. Theair-freshening container is coupled to the plumbing of the urinal deviceand is operable to supply a portion of the predetermined amount of thedeodorizing agent to the basin of the urinal device via the plumbingduring flushing of the basin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a conventional urinal deodorizer, illustratingthe urinal deodorizer with a housing thereof removed;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of a urinal assemblyaccording to the present invention, illustrating the urinal assemblywith a housing of a urinal deodorizer removed; and

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the preferred embodiment of a urinal assembly40 according to the present invention. The urinal assembly 40 includes aurinal device 50 and a urinal deodorizer 23.

The urinal device 50 includes a basin 55, and plumbing 16 that is one ofmanually and automatically operated to flush the basin 55.

The urinal deodorizer 23 includes a housing 1, a deodorizing agentsupply unit 2, a first pipe 21, and an open-type air-fresheningcontainer 12. The deodorizing agent supply unit 2 is disposed in thehousing 1 and has an outlet 20. The deodorizing agent supply unit 2 isadapted to hold a deodorizing agent 3 and to dispense a predeterminedamount of the deodorizing agent 3. The first pipe 21 has first andsecond ends 210, 211. The first end 210 is coupled to the outlet 20 ofthe deodorizing agent supply unit 2. The open-type air-fresheningcontainer 12 is coupled to the second end 211 of the first pipe 21 toreceive and hold the predetermined amount of the deodorizing agent 3dispensed from the deodorizing agent supply unit 2. The air-fresheningcontainer 12 is coupled to the plumbing 16 of the urinal device 50 andis operable to supply a portion of the predetermined amount of thedeodorizing agent 3 to the basin 55 of the urinal device 50 via theplumbing 16 during flushing of the basin 55.

In the preferred embodiment, the urinal deodorizer 23 further includes asecond pipe 15 that has upper and lower ends. The upper end is coupledto the air-freshening container 12 and the lower end is coupled to theplumbing 16 of the urinal device 50. The air-freshening container 12supplies the portion of the predetermined amount of the deodorizingagent 3 to the basin 55 via the second pipe 15 and the plumbing 16.

In the preferred embodiment, the urinal deodorizer 23 further includes areplaceable absorbent member 4 that is disposed in the air-fresheningcontainer 12. The replaceable absorbent member 4 is one of a spongematerial, a water-absorbent cotton material, and a non-woven clothmaterial.

The housing 1 confines a compartment 13 that encloses the deodorizingagent supply unit 2 therein. The deodorizing agent supply unit 2includes a control unit 22 that can be either manually controlled orelectrically activated. In the preferred embodiment, an eccentric cam220 of the deodorizing agent supply unit 2 is employed to regulatedispensing of the deodorizing agent 3. That is, in the preferredembodiment, the eccentric cam 220 is controlled by the control unit 20to spin once at regular intervals. For example, the control unit 20 mayinclude a timer (not shown) that may be manually set and/or have adefault mode, and that allows for such operation by the control unit 20to control the eccentric cam 220.

An inner back wall 102 of the housing 1 that faces into the compartment13 has an opening 103 that allows the first pipe 21 to passtherethrough. The first pipe 21 is also routed in a first hidden recess11 that is formed in an outer back wall 10 of the housing 1. Theopen-type air-freshening container 12 is mounted on an upper portion 101of the outer back wall 10 of the housing 1. The open-type air-fresheningcontainer 12 is specifically designed in an open manner to facilitateeffortless replacement of the absorbent material 4 when necessary, aswell as to continuously expose the deodorizing agent 3 held in theopen-type air-freshening container 12 to the air outside the urinalassembly 40. On the outer back wall 10 of the housing 1, the second pipe15 is connected to the container 12 and the plumbing 16 via a firstcoupler 150 and a second coupler 152, respectively. The second pipe 15is disposed in a second hidden recess 14 formed in the outer back wall10 of the housing 1.

In use, the control unit 22 activates the eccentric cam 220 of thedeodorizing agent supply unit 2 to supply a predetermined amount of thedeodorizing agent 3 to the open-type air-freshening container 12 via thefirst pipe 21. The deodorizing agent 3 enters into the container 12,partially fills the container 12, and remains in the container 12 beforebeing supplied to the plumbing 16 through the second pipe 15 duringflushing. By temporarily remaining in open-type air-freshening container12, the deodorizing agent 3 is exposed to the surrounding air. Becausethe open-type air-freshening container 12 is open to the surroundingair, the deodorizing agent 3 is able to release its scent to thesurroundings to thereby continually mask unpleasant odors in therestroom.

Furthermore, the ability of the deodorizing agent 3 to release its scentto the surrounding air is enhanced through use of the absorbent material4. However, it should be noted that the absorbent material 4 is asupplement to the present invention. If the absorbent material 4 isomitted from the configuration of the urinal deodorizer 23, it is stillpossible to rely solely on the open-type air-freshening container 12 toperform deodorization, and the present invention can still achieve itsintended results.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatis considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included withinthe spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompassall such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

1. A urinal deodorizer adapted to be used in conjunction with a urinaldevice having plumbing and a basin, comprising: a housing; a deodorizingagent supply unit disposed in said housing and having an outlet, saiddeodorizing agent supply unit being adapted to hold a deodorizing agentand to dispense a predetermined amount of the deodorizing agent; a firstpipe having first and second ends, said first end being coupled to saidoutlet of said deodorizing agent supply unit; and an open-typeair-freshening container coupled to said second end of said first pipeto receive and hold the predetermined amount of the deodorizing agentdispensed from said deodorizing agent supply unit, said air-fresheningcontainer being adapted to be coupled to the plumbing of the urinaldevice, said air-freshening container being operable to supply a portionof the predetermined amount of the deodorizing agent to the basin viathe plumbing during flushing of the basin.
 2. The urinal deodorizer asclaimed in claim 1, further comprising a replaceable absorbent memberdisposed in said air-freshening container.
 3. The urinal deodorizer asclaimed in claim 2, wherein said replaceable absorbent member is one ofa sponge material, a water-absorbent cotton material, and a non-wovencloth material.
 4. The urinal deodorizer as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a second pipe having upper and lower ends, said upper endbeing coupled to said air-freshening container and said lower end beingadapted to be coupled to the plumbing of the urinal device, saidair-freshening container supplying the portion of the predeterminedamount of the deodorizing agent to the second pipe for eventual supplyto the plumbing of the urinal device.
 5. A urinal assembly, comprising:a urinal device including a basin, and plumbing that is one of manuallyand automatically operated to flush said basin; and a urinal deodorizerincluding a housing, a deodorizing agent supply unit disposed in saidhousing and having an outlet, said deodorizing agent supply unit beingadapted to hold a deodorizing agent and to dispense a predeterminedamount of the deodorizing agent, a first pipe having first and secondends, said first end being coupled to said outlet of said deodorizingagent supply unit, and an open-type air-freshening container coupled tosaid second end of said first pipe to receive and hold the predeterminedamount of the deodorizing agent dispensed from said deodorizing agentsupply unit, said air-freshening container being coupled to saidplumbing of said urinal device, said air-freshening container beingoperable to supply a portion of the predetermined amount of thedeodorizing agent to said basin of said urinal device via said plumbingduring flushing of said basin.
 6. The urinal assembly as claimed inclaim 5, wherein said urinal deodorizer further includes a replaceableabsorbent member disposed in said air-freshening container.
 7. Theurinal assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said replaceableabsorbent member is one of a sponge material, a water-absorbent cottonmaterial, and a non-woven cloth material.
 8. The urinal assembly asclaimed in claim 5, wherein said urinal deodorizer further includes asecond pipe having upper and lower ends, said upper end being coupled tosaid air-freshening container and said lower end being coupled to saidplumbing of said urinal device, said air-freshening container supplyingthe portion of the predetermined amount of the deodorizing agent to saidbasin via said second pipe and said plumbing.